Golden week, known as The National Holiday, is a seven days of getting to visit countries in Asia that are on your bucket list. This applies to the numerous tourists heading to Beijing as this might be in their bucket list. The droves of local and international tourist becomes apparent in the most famous attractions. Therefore avoid these areas for the sake of your sanity. You can always check them out later on the day. More after the jump
Forbidden City
The name says it all, don’t even attempt to head in the Forbidden City direction as the crowds will be overwhelming. Tourists both local and international will be swarming the place to take photos of must see attraction sites. If you have time either head there before or after making the trip memorable in a good way.
Badaling Great Wall
In April this year, a Canadian tourist knocked over an elderly Chinese woman accidentally kill the woman at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Apparently the tourist was running down the steep steps. In the Badaling section, the crowds make it impossible to even breath let alone walk. There are very many tourist buses and all those people are climbing the wall. Avoid this area at all cost. Try the newly opened Gubeikou instead for a more relaxed hike. Or sign up for hiking tours to the unrestored sections far from the overwhelming crowds.
Tiananmen Square
This is the national holiday period so the Tiananmen area will be restricted for some days while the rest of the time will be full of people taking selfies and taking photos of you in the process. On a normal day it’s packed but on this day it will be very crowded. So plan on going when there isn’t a holiday period or summer.
Summer Palace
This is a must visit for all both residents and tourists but when to visit is important as there’s always a plethora of buses that make access to the area slightly frustrating and difficult to navigate. Therefore imagine the crowds doubling or even tripling in numbers as people want to check this off their lists as soon as possible. This is most definitely a no-no.
Subways
Everyone will be on holiday which means more people commuting around town. Since taxi aren’t an option, the most convenient way to travel is using the subway system. On normal days it’s packed on the holidays, it’s downright super packed.
Photo: Wikimedia
